Witchling

Witchling, is about three sisters from the Otherworld living Earthside. Basically, the Otherworld is another dimension, and the people are Fae, Cryptos, and Demons. Thousands of years ago the 2 dimensions liveed in the same plane as each other, but then the Fae went to war with the humans, so the gods (the Greek ones to be exact) asked the Elementals to do something about it. They made a pact that sealed off the dimensions with limited access through portals regulated by the Fae. This pact was split into 9 seals and given to each of the elementals involved to guard. Over the course of time, they had gotten lazy and all of the seals eventually fell into a mortal's hands. Now modern day, the OW had become nothing but legends until the OW show more revealed itself once again. Humans are now aware of the OW's existence and have treated OW creatures as celebrities on Earth. The Three sister's are half-Fae, half-human. Their mother was a human who moved to the Otherworld to be with her husband, a fae. The story is told by the PoV of Camille, the eldest daughter, and an incompetent witch. Being half human has pretty much made their powers harder for them to control all the time and Camille's magic doesn't always go as planned. Her younger sisters are Dililah, a werecat who not only turns on the full moon but also turns when she's gets stressed out during PMS (pre-moon-syndrome), and Menolly, had amazing climbing skills until she was unwillingly turned into a Vampire on one of her assignments. Since they lived in the Otherworld while growing up, they were constantly ridiculed by the Full Blood Sidhe, especially Delilah ("Pretty Kitty") because she only turns into a small tabby cat while, typically, were-cats turn into big cats. So living Earthside as OIA agents (Otherworld Intelligence Agency) has made them minor celebrities in Seattle, and they have come to love quite a few Earthside luxuries. Then Jocko, a stunted Giant OIA agent who runs the Wayfinder bar, was garroted. Even while stunted he's taller and stronger than any human, and the rope gives off a strong Demon aura. dun-Dun-DUNNN!! Demons live in the Subterranean Realms of the Otherworld. They supposedly are to never allowed to reach Earth to cause their chaos, and THESE Demon scouts are looking for seals to give to their King, who planes to destroy the pact, destroying the separation of worlds, and bring an army to Earthside! With new dangers, new friends (such as a dragon that can morph into human form, an adorable gargoyle cub, and a foxy Japanese guy), and some intense passions between the characters, can the girls defeat top-notch demons and get the first seal from a mysterious 'Tom Lane'?

I loved this book, it incorporated many known mystical devices while also incorporating new which explained a couple of questionable things. It was very entertaining, and pretty hard to set down once I had started! The characters all have their problems which made it more relatable, even with all of the fantastical elements, it was quite love able. I also loved the authors writing style and I can't wait to read the next book :D show less

It waffles between feeling like it is young adult (scenes where characters act immaturely, or in a manner that seems to be trying to impart some sort of "moral" to the reader, rather than a manner that actually suits the situation in the book) and not feeling very young adult (some polyamorous loving going on here).

It has an interesting world and I sort of liked the concept, but... the "battles" were pretty lame (Estep's are better) and the main character... well, she tries too hard. And is always second guessing herself, and comes across as inconsistent (both in magical powers and mental strength) and yet is in charge of the OIA on Earth... seriously?

I already have the next book in the series so I'll read it but I don't think this show more story was strong enough that I'd buy it now if I hadn't already. Estep's Elemental Assassin is the same sort of story and is less young adult-feeling but if you want a fairy story that's well written and angst-full - try Moning's Fever series. show less

There is one aspect about this series that has been popping out at me throughout the entire novel - the girls aren’t perfect. They are a witch, changeling, and a vampire and none of them are great at it. Don’t get me wrong, they get by and they can get the job done, but because of their genetics, they can’t get everything correct. This is really refreshing in my opinion. There are a ton of books out there with witches and changelings and pretty much all of them have these characters who are perfect at their specialty and are generally really strong as well. The may not be strong when we’re introduced to them, but they end up finding out how strong they really are by the end of the book. The D’Artigo sisters are so not like show more that. Their magic is unpredictable, they know it and they work with it. It’s fun to see what Camille does when her magic doesn’t work the way she wants it to or it lands her in a situation that is not exactly in her favor. For a change, the main characters may be badass heroines, but they are working with some faulty talents and that isn’t stopping them from doing their jobs.

Another aspect I like are the men. So far, we’ve been introduced to four men - Smoky, Morio, Trillian, and Chase. Normally, the men wouldn’t be that big of a deal. All novels have them, but the thing I like…they are not your normal men. They’re not werewolves or vampires or your other typical drop dead gorgeous male who’s out to make the heroine’s life sexually frustrated. Instead, we have a dragon, a fox-demon, a Svartan (and I swear I see Spartan every time I read that), and a FBH - respectively. The only other novel I know of with a dragon as a main character is the Aisling Grey series (MacAlister) and there’s one character in the Mageverse series (Knight). Other than that, where are all the dragons? They can be sexy beasts and I personally would love to see more of them. Now I can. The fox-demon is still a shapeshifter, but he’s a demon as well. I don’t think I’ve seen another shapeshifter be demonkind before. Svartan is just another world for dark elf and that’s a new race as well. Usually the dark elves are the villains of most plots, so it’s refreshing to see them get a hero bit for a change. Honestly, the human male isn’t that unique, but he’s true. He’s not a macho male “I can kick anyone’s ass” type of human, but he’s a cop who is fascinated by the Fae and wants to work with them. He doesn’t know everything and he’s learning as he goes, but he handles it. Even when he’s obviously afraid, he doesn’t back down. How many human males have been like that. Chase just seems more real as a human male in a Fae world than most I’ve read about lately.

The plot itself is not really unique in my opinion, but the delivery is really good. A big bad demon wants to take over Otherworld and Earthside. He needs to collect spirit seals in order to get instance access for his troops and that’s where the girls come in. The plot itself seems used and I know I’ve seen it recently (McCray’s Magic series), but I see a lot of potential in it. Depending on how it’s developed in the following novels, I could end up thinking that it’s really unique; however, at the moment, it’s just not impressing me at the moment.

Overall, I did like the novel and I’m not mad that I bought the book. The characters are fun and different that I can’t wait to see them developed more. The plot itself is starting out mediocre, but I can see where it could go off and throw some complicating circumstances into the girls lives. And I can’t wait to see more of the men. I love dragons and any novel with dragons in it will always get my attention. The D’Artigo sisters remind me a lot of Phoebe, Piper, and Pru from Charmed, except they have the knowledge and the experience behind the magic, they just don’t have the finesse. For anyone looking for something new and familiar, then I would definitely try Witchling and probably the entire Otherworld series.

http://www.literaryescapism.com/2008/07/22/310/ show less

I wish I knew what caused the sudden rise in popularity of supernatural romance. Perhaps then I could write a book as mediocre as this one and be published just as easily. I had been looking forward to reading this series, as I'm familiar with the author in her other genre and expected good things from her. What a disappointment. Never mind that there didn't seem to be a clear plotline, or that the storyline was crammed with all manner of supernatural beasties that seemed to shift against each other uncomfortably, as though jammed together in a small box, ready to burst out with one wrong move. [a:Eileen Wilks|40563|Patricia Briggs|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1228867484p2/40563.jpg] has written a supernatural series with just as show more many ghoulies and ghosties within her books, yet there is a smoothness and flow, even a sense of rightness, to the disparate cultures and entities represented which is sorely lacking in Galenorn's work. Galenorn's characters are problematic as well. They were erratic and out-of-focus; in short, acting against the basic personality she sets up for each character. Consider that one of them will shapeshift into a tabby cat at the smallest stressor, a family argument, yet can spring into attack mode, knife out and gun blazing, under a stronger stressor such as someone unexpectedly entering the house. Doesn't make sense to me. Then there's the fact that the three main characters, the sisters, are half-fairy. That's fine, I completely understand that. Therefore you don't need to beat me over the head with their fairy-inherited cavalier attitude towards sex, or the fact that one sister is in thrall to a dark fairy and can't fight the compulsion to go screw him every time he walks into a room. Let me state, I am not a prude: Sex is good and fun, and I have no objections to the highly colorful, 16th cen. euphemism (which rhymes with 'duck') that describes it. However, I do have a problem with an author dropping it and other such words with an alarming regularity, enough to distract from the story. Was it some sort of justification or defense on the author's part, to prove that she wasn't just a New Agey Wiccan, that she could also write 'hip' and 'popular' fiction? I don't know, but it's the only thing I can think of. show less

I really enjoyed this book. I found it to be a light-hearted, fun read -- a good way to unwind from a long day. I will definitely be reading the 2nd book in the series.

Shelf Talk: On Mind Trash

It happens to everyone. Over winter break it happened to me. It always strikes when you least expect it. One day you’re fine and the next day you wake up, go to school, pull out your textbook, and none of the words make any sense. Your mind just goes into hibernation. I refer to this common ailment as “word fatigue,” and I had developed a wicked case of it.

Now, the best cure for “word fatigue” is a day or two spent playing video games or watching mindless television. What you can’t do, or at least shouldn’t do if you want to avoid a mental meltdown, is look at words on a page…any page. However, if you are a self proclaimed bookaholic, as I am, “word fatigue” poses a major problem. The show more problem? Duh! You can’t read!

So, there I was beginning of winter break, stacks and stacks of wonderful books, and absolutely no desire to read them, let alone the ability to comprehend them. At first, I didn’t panic. Being the bookaholic I am this was just another routine “word fatigue,” and I had a contingency plan. First, I pulled all of the books I had been dying to read out of my collection, stacked them up, and systematically read the first chapter of every one until something stuck. Nothing stuck. Then, I attempted to bribe myself into reading by driving to the nearest bookstore and buying anything that looked remotely interesting. I left with an armful of books. I was optimistic; by the time I got home, I wasn’t interested. I started to panic a little…okay, a lot.

Two weeks into winter break, the situation had escalated from panic to desperation. It was time to pull out the big guns; it was time to pull out the “mind trash.” Books, lovingly referred to as “mind trash,” are the soap operas and reality T.V. shows of the book world. What can I say? I was a desperate woman. I tore through every corner of my home looking for my “mind trash” fix and came out empty handed. I had not one “mind trash” novel on hand, a mistake I would soon remedy. I sped to the bookstore, dashed in with fifteen minutes till closing, and came out with four “mind trash” books and five minutes to spare. One of those books was Yasmine Galenorn’s Witchling.

Camille D’Artigo, the first part of a sister trio, is a witch who is working earthside in the OIA (Otherworld Intelligence Agency) whose magic could be considered faulty at best. She and her two sisters, Delilah (a werecat) and Menolly (a vampire), all work earthside for the same agency. It is their job, along with their side-kick Chase (a human working for the Seattle Police Department), to monitor and investigate any otherworldly crimes happening earthside. Of course, little do they know (at least in the beginning) that all Hades is about to break loose. A wicked civil war is brewing in the otherworld, and a demon uprising, from a forbidden realm threatens to take over both the otherworld and earth.

The reader follows Camille and her sisters on an adventure to discover new places, old people, new romances, and yet another piece of a mysterious puzzle. On every page of this book, one can find murder, mayhem, mystery, or magic. This book is a whirlwind assault on the senses that will leave you wanting more.
Galenorn’s Witchling is a superb piece of “mind trash.” This book is the first in her Otherworld series, which, to date, consists of five books. I devoured all five within a week and a half and am left salivating for more. Galenorn, who seems to be very well read, pulls bite size pieces from classic literature and ancient mythologies to create a multi-faceted fantasy world. This fantasy world she has created is “mind trashy” enough to get you hooked but solid and smart enough to keep you interested.

Witchling is a Paranormal Romance, and I give it an easy R rating. This book is not for everyone, especially for those under the age of 18. It is, however, for people who enjoy reading a non-standard book about witches, demons, dragons, vampires, werewolves (of a sort), elves, goblins, sprits, gods, and humans. It is also for those who like a good murder with their romance. Don’t expect the dull with this novel. Happy Reading!!! show less

Camille, a moon witch, half-faerie and owner of a bookstore works for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. Call it a police unit for denizens of Otherworld. When a gentle giant gets killed near one of the portals to Otherworld, things start to get dicey. Camille and her two sisters, Menolly (a newly turned vampire) and Delilah (werecat), have to solve a case that involves demons, immortals, portal keys and well... pretty much everything their faulty half-faerie magic cant handle.

My take on the book:

While I enjoyed the book for the most part, I'm not fully convinced.
I've read other books by the author which I enjoyed a lot more. Nevertheless, there is certainly potential in this series: the plot is great, the characters are diverse and show more with already 20 books out, it cant be bad right?

So what didn't I like?
Well... it was.. a lot of the same. We had the same history, sentences (concerning her magic for example) over and over again and other descriptions were a tad overkill. Describing the world is super and makes it very immersive for the reader, but put too much of it in the book and it tends to stagnate and get boring.

Character development was decent. We got to know the sisters a bit, their family connection (Earthside and Otherworld) and we met a big part of the cast. I cant say we know anyone well, but rather only superficially.
From the support cast I like Smokey best... that dragon... man, I hope we get to see a lot more of him! :D

As I've stated earlier the many descriptions kind of threw a wrench in the flow of the book which was a shame as we didn't get too much action in this first instalment and as such were left with a lot of talking, descriptions of what Camille was wearing, another history lesson or warning that her magic might backfire and last but not least, some sex.

Since I already have some of the following books in the series I will read them at some point.
The plot is great, I just hope we got all of the descriptive world building and history lessons out of the way. Fingers crossed! show less